MERION STATION, Pa. – The Saint Joseph's baseball team scored 29 runs and pounded out 28 hits on Saturday as the Hawks swept a doubleheader from Iona at Smithson Field.
 
Game 1: Saint Joseph's 16, Iona 6 (F/8)
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
• Iona (2-14) opened the scoring with a run in the top of the fourth, but the Hawks answered in the bottom of the inning, sending 10 batters to the plate and scoring five runs.  Consecutive singles by Ryan Cesarini and Nate Thomas started the inning before Ryan Weingartner walked to load the bases.  Ryan Picollo was then hit by a pitch to force in a run and tie the game.
 
• Luke Zimmerman followed with a sacrifice fly to put the Hawks in front.  Two batters later, Max Hitman hit a two-run double and Brett Callahan followed with an RBI double of his own to push the lead to 5-1.
 
• The Gaels threatened in the fifth, loading the bases with nobody out, but Matt McShane came on from the bullpen to get a strikeout and a double play to escape the jam.  The Hawks wouldn't be so lucky in the top of the sixth, however, as a bases-clearing double with the bases loaded and two away cut the Hawk lead to 5-4.
 
• The Hawks responded by batting around once again and plating eight in the bottom of the seventh.  After a Conlan Wall single, Cesarini homered to extend the lead to three.  Thomas then walked and scored on a double by Weingartner to make it an 8-4 game.
 
• A double by Zimmerman brought home Weingartner before a Travis Rinker walk and a Hitman single.  Callahan then followed with a grand slam into the Iona bullpen to blow things open.
 
• The Gaels got two back in the eighth to cut the margin to 13-6, but a pair of walks to Thomas and Weingartner to start the bottom of the frame set up Picollo for a three-run home run to reach the 10-run threshold and invoke the mercy rule.
 
BEHIND THE BOX SCORE
• Ryan DeSanto got the start but did not figure into the decision for the Hawks, allowing a run on four hits while striking out nine in four-plus innings.  Matt McShane tossed three and a third innings of relief for the win, while Iona's Nick Chiaia allowed five runs in three and two-thirds innings to take the loss.
 
• Callahan drove in five runs in the opener, while Picollo brought home four.
 
• Each Hawk batter in the starting lineup reached base in the game, with Callahan, Wall, Cesarini, and Hitman notching two hits apiece.  Thomas went 1-for-1 with four walks, while he and Weingartner scored three times apiece.
 
Game 2: Saint Joseph's 13, Iona 0 (F/7)
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
• Saint Joseph's (7-8) picked things right back up in the first inning of the nightcap, scoring six times.  Callahan led off with a double before Wall reached on an error and advanced on a wild pitch; an infield single by Cesarini brought home Callahan with the game's first run.
 
• Two batters later, Weingartner singled home a run to double the lead.  Justin Igoe followed with a sacrifice fly before a two-run double by Luca Trigiani extended the lead to 5-0.  Colin Myers followed with an RBI single to push it to a six-run lead.
 
• The Hawks scored three more times in the second as Cesarini, Thomas, and Weingartner hit three consecutive singles before Igoe tripled to right field.  Cesarini would then hit an RBI double and come in on a single by Thomas to make it an 11-0 game after three.
 
• Wall added an RBI single in the fourth before Callahan scored on a wild pitch to extend the lead to 13-0.  Iona failed to scored in the final innings, and the mercy rule was invoked in the seventh.
 
BEHIND THE BOX SCORE
• Domenic Picone turned in a strong outing on the mound, scattering four hits in five shutout innings to earn the win, while Michael Untracht conceded nine runs on nine hits in an inning and a third to take the loss.  Alec Rodriguez and Cole Stetzar each added a shutout inning of relief for SJU.
 
• Cesarini, Thomas, and Weingartner all went 3-for-3 in the game and combined to score seven runs and drive in five.
 
UP NEXT
Saint Joseph's hosts Monmouth on Tuesday, March 21.  Game time is set for 3:00 p.m., with a live stream available on ESPN+.